Chapter 32 Section 3 my country's first aircraft

The world's aviation circles generally believe that the first aircraft was invented in December 1903 by the Wright brothers of the United States.Why is this? According to tradition and practice, a successful invention must meet the three conditions of "unprecedented", "advanced" and "applicable through practice", all of which are indispensable.The airplane made by the Wright brothers in 1903 has two layers of parallel wings at the front and back, and there are many pillars and ropes connecting the wings, which looks like a big bookshelf.The total weight is 340 kg.On December 17 of that year, when the plane took off for the first time, it was only three meters above the ground, with a flight distance of 37 meters and a flight time of 12 seconds.It was the fourth test flight that day, with a flight distance of 259.69 meters and a flight time of 59 seconds. Finally, the plane was blown over by the wind and crashed.The aircraft, which of course now looks very primitive and imperfect, was relatively advanced at the time: the geometry of the wings was correct, the propeller blades were well designed, it was powered by a gasoline engine, and in particular the problems of lateral stability and handling were solved , these are unprecedented creations.This aircraft, which meets the three conditions mentioned above, can be said to be the earliest practical manned powered aircraft.

Although our country did not manufacture the world's first aircraft, it was the Chinese who won the early international flying competition championships.He is the famous aviator Feng Ru who built my country's first airplane and successfully flew into the sky. Feng Ru was born in 1883 in an ordinary peasant family in Enping County, Guangdong Province.Smart and ambitious since childhood. When he was 12 years old, his uncle, who was running a small business in San Francisco, proposed to take him to the United States to make a living, but his parents loved him very much because his four older brothers had died, and they were unwilling to let him travel far.But Feng Ru said: "A man takes the four seas as his home and guards the corner of the country, which is not what he wants." He finally obtained the consent of his parents, and traveled across the ocean with his uncle to the United States.He worked as a child laborer in San Francisco before moving to New York City a few years later.In the United States, he witnessed the developed industry and exquisite craftsmanship there, and gradually felt that the prosperity of the Western world was due to the development of industry, and the development of industry came from machines, so he came up with the idea of ​​learning machine manufacturing to change the backwardness of the motherland.So, from then on, he began to study tenaciously.

At that time, Feng Ru, a child laborer, was cruelly squeezed by the capitalists, and his income was meager, but he saved money and bought a lot of books on mechanical knowledge.He is young, but the work he does is very heavy, and he has to work more than ten hours a day.He has no time during the day, so he uses the rest time at night to study, and he is not afraid of hardship and tiredness.He did not bow to his fate, but worked hard to study and study with extraordinary perseverance, and paid attention to observing mechanical manufacturing. He persisted for 10 years.Where there is a will, there is a way.In 10 years, Feng Ru taught himself the basic courses of middle school and accumulated extensive knowledge of mechanical manufacturing. Ten years later, Feng Ru, who is in his early 20s, has become a knowledgeable and skilled machine manufacturing expert.He ingeniously made water pumps, pile drivers, and wireless transmitters with better performance. These new products were welcomed by people.

In 1904, a war broke out between Tsarist Russia and Japan for the three northeastern provinces of China, and China was involved in a new disaster.When the news reached the United States, Feng Ru, who was far away in a foreign country, felt very sad.It occurred to him that in this age of competition, airplanes are a military necessity.If China has many planes guarding the port, isn't that enough to deal with invaders?The news that Feng Ru was going to trial-produce an airplane spread like wildfire. Some people were happy, some were skeptical, and there were also many people who ridiculed and ridiculed.Faced with these discussions and attitudes, Feng Ru firmly replied: "The trial production of the aircraft was not a whim on my part. When Japan and Russia competed for the territory of Northeast my country and turned the Northeast into a slaughterhouse, how could I remain indifferent as a Chinese?" What? An ancient saying goes: "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world". Every one of us overseas Chinese should use their own skills to serve the motherland. Airplanes are the latest weapons, so I am determined to manufacture them and use them to defend the motherland! "

It is indeed not an easy task for Feng Ru to trial-produce an aircraft.At that time, China did not have a single aircraft, so of course it did not have any technical information and experience of its own.In the United States, Feng Ru, who is poor, lacks funds, and it is even more impossible to obtain aircraft manufacturing technology from foreigners.But none of these can make Feng Ru flinch.He said categorically: "Although the trial production of aircraft is very difficult and dangerous, my determination has been made. If I fail to succeed, I would rather die!" In September 1907, Feng Ru rented a factory in Auckland. With the funds raised in the war, he and his assistants started the aircraft development work.They worked hard day and night, went to libraries and bookstores during the day, collected information from various sources, and conducted research all night long, running continuously like a fully wound clock.

In 1908, they produced their first aircraft, which was tested at Metto, Auckland.The test flight was unsuccessful.Then their factory was turned into ruins in an instant because of a fire.But Feng Ru was not discouraged, and set up a simple shed in Maitu, and started from scratch.After serious research and improvement, they soon made a new aircraft in February 1909.It's a pity that during the test flight, Feng Ru drove the plane just a few feet high before falling down suddenly.Fortunately, Feng Ru was not injured. When Feng Ru started to improve the new aircraft, his parents wrote a letter from the motherland, urging him to return to the country for reunion.Feng Ru has been wandering in a foreign country for 14 years. Why doesn't he miss his relatives and his hometown, but what makes him miss the plane even more.Repeated failures made him anxious, and made his soul attached to the plane even more.He thought he couldn't build an airplane, so he would have no face to see Jiang Dong's elders.He wanted to use the plane as a gift to his family and the motherland, so he resolutely said: "If the plane fails, I vow not to return to China!" Feng Ru's spirit also inspired his companions, and they all donated their only savings , continue the experiment.They thought hard about the reasons for the failure of the aircraft test flight, carefully analyzed various situations, found the key to the problem, changed the ratio of the fuselage and two wings, and came up with a new aircraft design.Seeing the successful prospects of the trial production work, everyone is more confident and more motivated.

The fruit of success finally gave Feng Ru the best reward. On September 21, 1909, his plane finally took to the sky.On this day, Feng Ru, a Chinese aircraft manufacturer and aviator, flew a self-made plane over Auckland!The wings, rudder, propeller, internal combustion engine and other components of this plane are all made by Feng Ru and other Chinese people themselves.The test flight range of this aircraft is 884.67 meters, which is more than twice the distance of 259.69 meters in the first test flight of the American Wright brothers in 1903.This achievement shocked the western world, and China won a glorious place in the early aviation history of the world!

Feng Ru made persistent efforts and soon produced a plane with better performance.He flew the plane for less than 20 minutes, and set a series of new world records, including a flight range of 32 kilometers, a speed of 104 kilometers per hour, and a maximum flight altitude of more than 200 meters.At the International Flying Contest held at the end of the same year, Feng Ru piloted this plane and won the first place with excellent results, and won the certificate of excellence issued by the International Flying Association. "China" - this great name, was given a new dazzling splendor by the state-of-the-art aircraft driven by his excellent son and daughter Feng Ru.

If Feng Ru was the one who built my country's first airplane abroad, then Yang Xianyi was the one who built the first airplane in my country. Yang Xianyi was born in 1891 in Xiangshan County, Guangdong.Influenced by his parents, he yearned for revolution since he was a child.In order to express his admiration, he changed Sun Yat-sen's word "Yixian" to "Xianyi" as his own name.After the Revolution of 1911, according to Sun Yat-sen's instructions, he formed my country's first air force flying team in Zhangzhou, Fujian, and led the flying team to bomb the Cantonese warlords.Later, Yang Xianyi followed Sun Yat-sen and took on the important task of organizing and training the air force.In a red brick building in Dashatou, Guangzhou, China's first aircraft factory was born.The factory lacked the necessary materials and equipment, and the conditions were very simple. Yang Xianyi and his companions struggled for several months, and finally built an airplane in 1923. This was the first aircraft designed and manufactured by the Chinese themselves in our country. A veritable domestic aircraft.Mrs. Sun Soong Ching Ling personally took this plane for a test flight, and Sun Yat-sen named the plane himself.